Most regular seed houses now have gai lohn, and you can also probably find it at Walmart, Lowe's and the like, but there are specialty houses as well. Here's a specialty supplier.

Here is a link that might be useful: oriental seed comp.

Look for Raab broccoli on the seed rack at your food market or other stores. Gai lan is not true brccoli, it doesn't get a head. You eat the stem, leaves and flowers. Its very good.

I found these seeds at Big Lots - pkg for 2004

$1

They also had Chinese rose radish, pak choi & several others.

Good luck!

Anna

Broccoli raab is not Chinese broccoli. Chinese broccoli is somewhat like regular broccoli, except he flower heads are smaller, somewhat coarser and you can eat the stems quite a ways down and they are still tender. Flowers are white.Leaves are blue-green. Raab (rapini) is another species. It looks different and is kind of like turnip leaves with tiny flower heads. Flowers are yellow and leaves are green. Paul.

"Chinese broccoli" is Gailan or Jielan, if you go to a chinese resturant, be sure to ask for it in chinese, otherwise, they just bring out regular American broccoli. I've been had too many times so now i always ask whether they've got the "right" broccoli or not.

As for vegetable itself, it is in the same family as broccoli, with i think the same nutritional benefits. But it looks nothing like regular broccoli (except for color of leaves). It usually has thick, big green/blueish leaves, the center stem is about thumb thick. harvest when one or two flower buds are about to open on 8-10 in tall stem.Stem and leaves are boiled and eaten with oyster sauce or stir fried with only garlic and salt. it's much more heat tolerant than broccoli, can basically grow year round if you give it enough water. (But, i'm lucky to live So Cal where it never freezes or gets too hot!) i get seeds at my local chinese supermarket.

dirt_dew, as Flatwoods_Farm says, Broccoli Raab is not Chinese Broccoli.

Gai Lan (non-serrated thicker, waxy leaves) (Brassica oleracea var. alboglabra):
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Broccoli Raab (serrated leaves) Brassica rapa L. (Ruvo group) in the turnip family:
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Violet
I stand corrected. Thank you.

The seed packet said

BROCCOLI RAAB
chinese broccoli

What grew from the seeds was the Chinese Broccoli shown in the first picture.

My Apologies to everyone.

dirt_dew z9,

Not a problem. Many seed companies do not make the time to be sure they are labeling their plants correctly. While it is better in eastern countries, some western companies are gradually coming around, but it will take time.

:)

Technically, while still in the same family, I believe that "Chinese Broccoli" & "Broccoli Raab" (aka "Rapini") are 2 separate vegetables - but close enough to be interchangeable in recipes to a point.

Here's a terrific website for Asian veggies:

http://www.kitazawaseed.com/index.html

The second picture in Violet's post, Broccoli Raab (serrated leaves) Brassica rapa L., looks like a typical Chinese Mustard to me. It has a pungent mustardy flavor to it and is usually made into pickles. Extra cold hardy. Seedlings germinated in fall are still green and alive after snow in my zone 5 garden. The Chinese name for it is Chey Lee Houng or Xue Li Hong which means red in snow. Not sure why it is called "Red in Snow", the leaf does not turn red in the snow:)

Ying

I have just started some Gai Lan in some cups to transplant into my veggie garden this spring. It will be my first time to try it. I've had only limitied success with broccoli, so I hope that this will grow a bit better in my southern climate. Any hints on growing Gai lan? I'm really excited to try it. This is just my second year gardening and I love the asian vegetables. I've had good luck with Pak Choi and Tatsoi so far. Also new this year to me, will be Mizuna. In zone 7, when should I start it? Direct sow or transplants?

Cindy

I'll be growing Mizuna for the first time this year as well, since my market no longer carries it & I LOVE it - great for both salads & stir fries.

From what I understand, although it is slower to bolt than most greens in warm/hot weather, it is essentially a cool/cold weather green. In fact, I have heard that one can even grow it well into the winter - especially if you grow it under some sort of plastic tunnel system.

Like you, I am in Zone 7 (although some folks consider it Zone 6/Zone 7). I am planning to experiment with both direct-sowing & transplants, & depending on the weather, will plant some outdoors in mid-March under cover, & put another group out in April.

Cindy_gardener,
If you've only had limited success with broccoli.. when do you plant it. In your location you may be better off with fall planting and direct sow in the ground.

Brassicas tend to prefer cooler temps so if you plant in late summer they'll grow large enough to harvest in the fall and you avoid most of the common brassica pests that come out in the summer and cause the most problems with that family.

LoveHummingBirds,
Chinese Mustard is Brassica juncea. It's leaves are not so serrated as Brassica rapa L.
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